Last Updated: December 10, 2023
1. Policy Statement
-------------------
The American Journal of Biomedicine (AJBM) is committed to ensuring transparency, accountability, and fairness in authorship and contributorship. These guidelines align with COPE and ICMJE Recommendations standards to define roles, responsibilities, and ethical practices.
2. Authorship Criteria
----------------------
To qualify as an author, individuals must meet all four of the following criteria:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.
2.1 Group Authorship:
- For large collaborative groups, the group name may be listed as the author, with individual contributors specified in the acknowledgments.
3. Contributorship
------------------
3.1 Contributor Roles:
- Contributors who do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged in the contributorship statement.
- Examples of contributory roles include:
□ Data collection
□ Statistical analysis
□ Technical support
□ Writing assistance
□ Supervision
3.2 Contributor Acknowledgment:
- All contributors must consent to being acknowledged.
- The specific nature of their contribution must be described.
4. Author Responsibilities
--------------------------
4.1 Corresponding Author:
- Acts as the primary contact during the submission and review process.
- Ensures all authors meet authorship criteria.
- Manages communication with the journal and co-authors.
4.2 Co-Authors:
- Must review and approve the final manuscript.
- Share responsibility for the integrity of the work.
5. Authorship Disputes
----------------------
5.1 Resolution Process:
- The journal will follow COPE guidelines to address authorship disputes.
- Disputes must be resolved before publication.
5.2 Common Issues:
- Addition or removal of authors after submission.
- Disagreement over the order of authors.
- Misrepresentation of contributions.
6. Ethical Considerations
-------------------------
6.1 Avoiding Misconduct:
- Prohibit ghost authorship, guest authorship, and honorary authorship.
- Require disclosure of all funding sources and conflicts of interest.
6.2 Accountability:
- Authors must ensure the accuracy and integrity of their work.
- Authors must disclose any ethical concerns related to the research.
7. Submission Requirements
--------------------------
7.1 Authorship Declaration:
- All submissions must include an authorship declaration form.
- The form must specify each author's contributions.
7.2 Contributorship Statement:
- Acknowledgments must list all contributors who do not meet authorship criteria.
- The statement must describe the specific contributions of each individual.
8. Transparency and Accountability
----------------------------------
8.1 Open Practices:
- Publish contributorship statements alongside articles.
- Provide transparency in author roles and responsibilities.
8.2 Accountability Mechanisms:
- Require authors to address any post-publication concerns.
- Implement corrections or retractions as needed.